CNA Training Can Start You On A Nursing Career

A CNA is a Certified Nursing Assistant, also called nurses’ assistants, home health aides, orderlies, and patient care technicians. The healthcare system is one that is most likely to expand in the coming years as the population ages since everyone needs healthcare. So what does a CNA do? How do you get CNA training? What is involved in being certified? How much does it pay?

Certified Nursing Assistants work full or part time in shifts at any time of the day or night. They work in nursing homes, in hospitals, and in facilities for the mentally ill. A CNA may help patients bathe, eat, or use the toilet. They may also change diapers, assist the patients in dressing, and help with medical equipment as well as check vital signs, such as blood pressure, pulse, and temperature. Certified Nursing Assistants work under the direction of nurses, helping patients with the daily basics of living. Certified Nursing Assistants may even live with a patient at their home.

CNA training, although mandatory, does not take long and can be a means to eventually become a Registered Nurse (RN) or Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). You must have a high school diploma or General Equivalency Diploma (GED) to begin the course. Those best qualified to become Certified Nursing Assistants have great people skills, a desire to help others and are in good health themselves.

Training can take anywhere from six weeks to six months, depending on where you choose to take your courses. You will take classes in a classroom, as well as clinical training where you will study anatomy, physiology, the fundamentals of nursing, proper nutrition, how to control infection, and other basics of the profession.

At the conclusion of your studies, you will take an exam. The exact requirements will vary from state to state. You may wish to contact your state’s CNA registry to find out what exactly is required. Usually part of the exam is written and part of it will test your bedside skill in caring for patients. After you pass the exam, you will have to take twelve hours of training every year to maintain your certification.

CNA training is a great way to find out if you would like to continue in the nursing profession. Pay ranges from eight to fifteen dollars an hour, depending on how much experience and training the person has, so once you have completed CNA training, you might discover you love nursing and take classes to become qualified as a Registered Nurse or Licensed Practical Nurse. Becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant is great for anyone who enjoys helping others.

Are you interested in getting Red Cross CNA training? Be sure to visit my site to find out more about CNA duties and what training you’ll need.